They're a lot of fun. That's really about it, they don't have many real advantages over modern markers as far as performance. It's like driving an 80s muscle car versus a brand new Ferrari. Maybe the Ferrari technically does the job better, but some people are always going to prefer their classic Camaro, you know?

Take a look at the used marker sections on here, Automags.org, mcarterbrown.com, and customcockers.com. You can find pretty basic but still fully functional Cockers and Mags for $100 most of the time, sometimes up to $150. There are certainly more expensive ones to be had, up to $1000 or more, but there are still more basic ones for $100-150 at almost any time on the market if you take a look.

Generally all mech cockers are the same. You pay for the rarity of bodies and extras for the most part. 2k2 cockers are going for around $130 and are fun. Cockers are finicky though and you will have to time them and sweetspot them.

Classic mags go anywhere from $50-$150 and are light and fun. You do not have to time them or tune them and they are very simple and reliable.

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend an Autococker to somebody who doesn't really know anything about them. They can be so finicky and they can be really hard to fix sometimes. The only Autococker I would recommend to somebody that doesn't have any experience with them is the Trilogy line, since they don't have a frontblock and aren't as complicated as traditional Autocockers.

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend an Autococker to somebody who doesn't really know anything about them. They can be so finicky and they can be really hard to fix sometimes. The only Autococker I would recommend to somebody that doesn't have any experience with them is the Trilogy line, since they don't have a frontblock and aren't as complicated as traditional Autocockers.

I would definitely recommend a nice mag.They are very easy to maintain and play with and are extremely reliable (as much, if not more-so than a Tippmann).And they range from the humble $100 workhorse, the 68 Classic.

the only reason i would be careful with a mag is that if you don't have a lvl 10 you will chop higher end paint, you pretty much have to keep to field grade paint to shoot it out of a mag that does not have a lvl 10. autocockers however it is damn near impossible to chop if they are setup properly and you don't short-stroke it.

it almost hurts to see this question get asked =[ i must be getting old of somthing lol if i had to choose between a mag and a cocker though i LOVE cockers. ive owned quite a few (not as many as a lot of members here though) i like them because you can do SO MUCH with them, they can be mech or electro, pump or semi its all in the way you set it up. you can even build your own cockers from the ground up on some sites like paintballgateway.com

Mags are less fun to me. No moving parts. When they leak you might as well pay 80$ and send them to agd.
That being said they are still a fun gun. I would suggest buying a new ULE mag straight from AGD. It will retain 95% of its value, you get all the upgrades (level ten, trigger job, your choice of frame) and you know it works.

Cockers will leak more often but are easy fixes. honestly a cocker is one of the easiest guns to repair and maintain. There are 100,000 youtube tutorials, and they are about as easy to assemble as a spyder.

It depends on your price range:

New: your only option here is CCM or the AKA merlin body kits both are expensive.

3-400:
Mech: shocktech SFL, Kapp, CCM works
Electro: A nice 2k+ body with an E2
Pump: CCM with an AT kit

1-200:
WGP cockers

mainly the bodies are the same milled from wgp blanks (aside from aka, ccm, and jackal machine)
I would avoid ANS, Palmers, FBM, Spankyfishbone, Race frames, and MQ valves if you are not confident with taking it apart. These items are finicky.

I would avoid an E1 if I could.

Basically my favorite cockers are these:
Belsales/ Eclipse: they took a standard cocker and polished modded stock parts to make them better
Shocktech: took the hot rod approach but still very similiar to belsales just a different approach.
Kapp: took both approaches and made fantastic custom cockers
AKA: pricy but AKA doesn't have upgrades, they have accessories
CCM: Makes great stuff especially pump stuff

The main thing it will come down to is your milling preference as all of them will have a different flair.
But basically unless its electro they will all shoot effeciently, smoothly (weight helps with this), fairly fast, and quiet.
The main selling point of ccm is they warranty parts for life.
The main selling point of belsales is they are still in buisiness and have rebuild parts for rams and regs.
Kapp is no longer around, but they made stuff to last
Shocktech no longer makes rams, lprs, or 3 ways and the 3 way oring is not easy to find
Aka is just really pricey.

I think the big draw to the cocker and mags are the tinkerer. Want a gun you can spend hour's modifying and $100's customizing? Then welcome to the family!<br> <br>Here's my 1996, heavily modified 68 mag. Semi auto walking the trigger. <br>

Since when were Palmer's items finicky? They are some of the best in paintball, especially for Autocockers. Palmers might be on the expensive side, but they perform hella better than any stock WGP parts, or ANS parts.

Mags are less fun to me. No moving parts. When they leak you might as well pay 80$ and send them to agd....

Fixing a leaking AutoMag is not harder than fixing a leaking AutoCocker or a leaking "modern age" gun like Ego, DM oder Luxe.You just have to get on the problem in a methodic way - replacing orings in a random order doesn't help to fix a leaking gun, no matter what brand or type it is.Tom Kaye (the man who invented the AutoMag) made a video which explains to pinpoint the problem. It's floating around on YouTube. Once you watched it, it's quite easy to fix a leaking AutoMag.

The only hard thing in my opinion is to set up a level 10 bolt kit the right way. It may take some time, as you have to go by try and error. Sometimes you hit the perfect setup by the first try, sometimes you tinker around a lot until you have it working right.

Neverthelesss - if you decide to get an AutoMag or an AutoCocker, be aware that these guns need some more time and love to be set up and tuned perfectly. It's not as easy as with modern guns, where you play with the settings of the board. It's all mechanical, so you need at least a bit of talent and craftmanship if you want to get the best results.

On the other hand you have endless options to customize the guns for your needs and preferences - and that's the fun part of it in my opinion.

It took me about one and a half year to get the all the parts I needed to build my personal AutoMag (here in Germany we face some problems, as paintball guns are considered firearms, so you can't just import the main parts of them). Now, that I have completed it and set it up right - I won't give it away at any cost. I owned some highend guns (MacDev Clone, Planet Eclipse Geo 2 and 2.1, Dye NT10 and NT11) and never had a problem to let them go. My AutoMag? The only way to get it is to take it from my dead, cold hands...

I was in your spot about 4 years ago. Autocockers and mags are definitely the classics of paintball. Just like stated earlier, they're more than likely not up to par as the new markers performance wise, but they are definitely fun guns. Autocockers have so many moving parts and different parts that intertwine to work together as one unit. Mags are quite reliable and are great guns. You cannot go wrong with either. Theyre are very different and I would suggest trying both of them at one point. It's a great journey and learning experience. It makes you have a soft spot for those classic markers when you finally see them fine tuned and working.

I am getting back into the sport after a rather lengthy hiatus (married and had a couple kids, wouldn't trade it!). When I stopped playing the Electronic markers were just starting to hit the main stream and were pretty much led by the Angles. Smart Parts had just released their second generation Shocker and first generation Impulse, Spyder and PMI released their electronic versions. Autocockers and Mags (especially the RT) were still the Kings. I still have my Autococker and would not trade it for anything it is a joy to shoot especially with the swing trigger, which was just becoming the crazy when I built mine. I would be bold enough to say that it will hold it's own with most of the markers that are on the market today in regards to overall performance except for rate of fire.